Coin-freed gas-meter.



No. 656,042. Patented Aug. [4, I900. Bl PATERSDN.

COIN FREE!) GAS METER.

(Application filed Feb. 15, 1900.1

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No. 656,042. Patented Aug. [4, I900.

' B. PATEBSON.

COIN FREED GAS METER. rApplication filed Feb. 15, 1900.

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I r.-- fl NITED STATES- PATENT Fine.

BERTIE PATERSON, on LONDON, ENGLAND.

COIN-#FREED GAS-METER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 656,042, dated August 14, 1900.

Application filed February 15, 1900. Serial No. 5 ,348. (No model.)

T0 at whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, BERTIE PATERsoN,a subj ect of the Queen of Great Britain, residing at 31 Clerkenwell Green, Clerkenwell, London, England, have invented new and useful Improvements in or Connected with Coin-Freed or Prepayment Gas-Meters, of which the following is a specification.

This inventionrelates to improvements in or connected with coin-freed or prepayment gas-meters of the kind wherein by the aid of a coin a normally-locked handle is freed to en'- able the purchaser to turn the same through a predetermined distance, the rotation of the said handle revolving a screw,thus setting for-' ward a toothed wheel upon the same through a predetermined distance and opening the gas outlet or inlet valve, so as to allow gas to pass through the meter, the passage of the gas effectingthe return of the said toothed wheel by means of an elongated pinion placed parallel with the screw.

The invention has for its object to improve this class of prepayment gas-meter.

In the accompanyingdrawings, Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of a portion of a coin freed or prepayment gas-meter having myimprovementsapplied thereto. Fig. 2 is a sectional plan thereof. Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3 3, Fig. 2; and Fig. 4c is a section on the line 4 4,Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 3, but showing the parts'in'difierent relative positions.

a is the meter-casing, b the screw, 0 the toothed wheel mounted upon the same, and d the elongated pinion which is placed parallel with the screw 19, all of these parts being arranged in the attic of the meter.

6 is a casing which is externally fitted to the meter-casing a and carries the rest of the prepayment mechanism. This mechanism comprises the coin-carrier for receiving the coin introduced into the mechanism, the said carrier consisting of the two end plates ff, which are formed with slots f f to receive the coin and are mountedupon the spindlef which is supported in bearings in the frameplates g g and has an external handle or crank f whereby it can be turned in the usual way.

The spindle f is provided with a crown-wheel h, which gears with an elongated pinion h on the spindle k mounted in the casing e, the

said pinion h being adapted to efiect the rotation of the feed-screw I) either directly or indirectly. In the drawings it actuates the said feed-screw I) through the medium of the toothed wheel h which is mounted upon one end of the said feed-screw b externally to the meter-easing and inside the casing e. The crown-wheel 7L also serves as a price-changing wheel to enable the apparatus to be adapted to deliver different quantities of gas for each coininserted, according to the price of gas in a particular locality. The coin-carrier is normally held against rotation by means of a pawl 1L, pivoted at t" to the casing e and having two pins '5 2' which engage peripheral notches or slots 2' t in the end plates ff of the carrier, and by means of a second or gravity pawlj, pivoted at j to the casing c. This pawl j normally engages a depression or tooth 76 upon a cam-disk 70, mounted upon the carrier-spindle f and is also extended upward to form a shutter j for closing the coin-slot Z in the easing 8, as hereinafter described, when a coin is in the carrier. It will also be seen that the pawl j forms a chute or guide for the coins inserted in the mechanism. With this arrangement when a coin A is inserted in the apparatus it drops into the slots f f in the end plates ff, and in its passage into the said slots releases the gravity-pawl j from engagement with the cam-disk in, moving it into the position shown in broken lines in Fig. 3, in which position the shutter j is brought underneath the coin-slot Z, so as to close it. The cam disk 70' being thus released, the carrier f can be rotated by the handle f the peripheral notches t in the end plates f f permitting a slight amount of movement. This initial movement of the carrier, however, causes the coin A to lift the pawl e from these peripheral notches i as shown in Fig. 5, thereby completely releasing the carrier and allowing it to be turned farther until the coin falls from the carrier f and the latter resumes its normal position, when the gravity-pawl (which during the latter portion of the movement has ridden upon the periphery of the cam-disk 7e and thereby kept the money-slot closed) again drops into engagement with the tooth 7e and locks the carrier, upon which the shutter 7' is withdrawn and the money-slot Z reopened to receive another coin, and so on. The rotation of the spindle f has turned the crownwheel h, which through the medium of the toothed gear h 7L3 has setforward the toothed wheel 0 upon the screw Z) to an extent corresponding to one coins equivalent of gas.

71 2" are peripheral slots formed in the end plates f, into which the pawl-pins t drop as soon as the coin falls from the carrier, so as to prevent the latter from being turned back.

The toothed wheel 0, which rides upon the feed-screw b in the attic of the meter, is of special constructionthat is to say, it is formed upon one face with a number of projections or teeth 0, preferably somewhat radial, the grooves forming the teeth upon the wheel 0 extending onto the peripheries of the said projections. These teeth or projections 0 have for their object to engage with a starwheel m when the toothed wheel 0 has been returned by the action of gas passing through the meter to the initial position, the engagement of the teeth 0' at any point with the star-wheel m eifecting the closing of the gas outlet or inlet valve. T 0 this end the starwheel m is mounted upon a spindle m, which is supported at one end in a stuifing-box n on a closed chamber 72, containing a crank-arm 0, keyed to the spindle and connected to the valve spindle or stem 1) and at the other end in a recess 1) in the feed-screw b. To enable the gas to be gradually and not suddenly cut off, so as to give notice to the consumer that a further purchase of gas must be made, I form the valve-stem p with a cone-shaped lower endp, having a dish-shaped or recessed disk or valve proper, q. With this arrangement the gradual closing of the valve gradually decreases the area of the gas-outlet passage 0 until the dish-shaped disk (1 completely closes the said passage.

To close the coin-slot when the number of coins for which the machine is adapted has been introduced into the apparatus, I provide a weighted crank-plate s,pivoted in the frameplates g g and having a pallet s and rod 5 which extends into and is carried in the attic of the meter. The rod 5 is pivoted to the plate 3 and has a projection 5 against which the toothed wheel 0, riding on the screw 1), impinges upon reaching the forward end of the said screw, so as to bring the pallet 3 against the pawlj and move the shutterj under the coin-slot t, which, however, reopens on the consumption of one coins equivalent of gas.

t is a disk numbered from O to 11 for indicating the number of pence inserted in the mechanism, the said disk I. being fixed upon the spindle i, mounted in the bracket 9 in the casing e and carrying a worm-wheel t which gears with a worm 6 upon the carrierspindle f the gearing being so arranged that the disk 25 moves forward one figure for each revolution of the handle f A second disk at is also provided, the said disk being numbered to indicate in shillings the amount of money inserted in the apparatus. This is indicated by a pointer a, keyed upon a spindle 10 mounted in the bracket g and having a worm-wheel a, which gears with a worm u upon the spindle t. A window 1) is provided behind the hinged front e of the casing e to enable the indications upon the disks to be read off.

Having now particularly described and as certained the nature of my said invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is i 1. In a coin-freed apparatus, the combination with the rotatable coin-carrier provided with coin-engaging portions, of a pawl normally engaging said carrier and having a part adjacent to the coin-engaging portions of the carrier adapted to be engaged by the coin as it enters the carrier, to disengage said pawl from the carrier, a second pawl normally engaging said carrier and having a part in the path of the coin as it is carried around in the carrier for disengaging said second pawl from the carrier, substantially as described.

'2. In a coin-freed apparatus, the combination with the rotatable coin-carrier provided with coin-engaging portions, of a pawl normally engaging said carrier and holding it against forward movement, said pawl having a part adjacent to the coin-engaging portions of the carrier adapted to be engaged by the entering coin to disengage the pawl from the carrier, a second pawl engaging elongated cutaway portions of the carrier to permit a limited forward movement of the carrier but preventing the rearward movement of the carrier, said pawl having a part in the path of the coins carried by the carrier to disengage the pawl from the carrier, substantially as described.

3. In a coin-freed apparatus, the combination with a casing provided with a coin-slot, a rotatable coincarrier within the casing having coin-engaging portions, a pawl normally engaging the carrier to prevent its forward movement, provided with a shutter adjacent to said coin-slot, adapted to close the same when the pawl is disengaged from the carrier, said pawl having a part in the path of the entering coin for disengaging the coin from the carrier, a second pawl normally engaging the carrier and having a part in the path of a coin carried by said carrier for disengaging said second pawl when the carrier is rotated, substantially as described.

4. In a coin-freed apparatus, a coin-carrier comprising two slotted end plates mounted upon a rotatable spindle, a cam-disk keyed upon the said spindle, a gravity-pawl normally locking the cam-disk and adapted to be unlocked by the weight of the coin and a pawl normally locking the coin-carrier and adapted to be unlocked by the coin when the carrier is rotated, substantially as described.

5. In a coin-freed or prepayment gas-meter, the combination with a rotatable coin-carrier, a pawl holding said carrier from forward movement and having a part in the path of an entering coin, a second pawl engaging the carrier and having a part in the path of a coin carried thereby, a screw-shaft operatively connected with said rotatable carrier, a pinion having a threaded aperture engaging said shaft, an elongated pinion gearing with said first-mentioned pinion and operatively connected with the registering apparatns of the meter, a cut-01f valve and an operating device for the cut-off valve in the path of said threaded pinion, substantially as described.

6. In a coin-freed or prepayment gas-meter, the combination with a casing provided with a coin-slot, a rotatable coin-carrier adapted to receive coins from said slot, a locking-pawl normally engaging said carrier to prevent its forward movement and having a part in the path of the entering coin to disengage the pawl from the carrier, said pawl having operatively connected therewith a shutter for closing the coin-slot when said pawl is disengaged from the carrier, a second pawl engaging said car rier and having a part in the path of a coin carried by said carrier, a screw-shaft oper-' atively connected with said carrier, a pinion having a threaded aperture engaging said screw-shaft, an elongated pinion meshing with said threaded pinion and operatively connected with the registering apparatus of the meter, a cut-off valve having an operating device provided with a part in the path of said threaded pinion when moving in one direction along its screwshaft, a device operatively connected with said shutter and located in the path of said threaded pinion when moving in the opposite direction along its screwshaft, substantially as described.

BERTIE PATERSON. Witnessesz JOHN E. BoUsFIELD, O. G. REDFERN. 

